🌎 Costco has a CEO MO

Plus: The hand of law is squeezing AI and crypto. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/idijJ8py086rG4VVpzs9Qqbd2i4Unxw6yPqcD7XJr1o=323) [Quartz](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850943313%2Fcostco-has-a-ceo-mo%2F/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/pUWV3EpgLq60BWVenFEHshhD8JARRWnjsvGHd-eEV-U=323) October 20, 2023 [View in browser](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850943313%2Fcostco-has-a-ceo-mo%2F/2/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/qm9Sr4Mx-b3NRbiKElwe8xg03GajsV9lpYvDT9VmzA8=323) %2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850943313%2Fcostco-has-a-ceo-mo%2F/3/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/o7mSs_HPZ9NPkf8W8LkGgEcAh7FZ73M-sJm-wgL6SA8=323 Photo: Reuters (Tom Brenner) Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know The insider CEO is Costco’s MO. The retailer’s incoming chief Ron Vachris is a chip off the [same internal bench](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fcostco-has-only-ever-had-insider-ceos-1850940365%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/4ANgtKEFxTz2btmB-p8hE96XqViCDXyuc7QI6hnivUI=323) as his predecessors. Nokia is laying off up to 14,000 workers. The Finnish mobile company said the move will save it €400 million ($423 million) and [blamed slow 5G rollout](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fnokia-layoffs-slow-5g-demand-1850941389%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/Cs5x8_jkVyKsFp_xmVAXnHuAYVOt3cmO5rRl4Fsjr2A=323). AI factories are coming to town. Chip maker Nvidia and iPhone producer Foxconn [are working together to create data centers](%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness-67153669/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/bOvS5wrpPEY-C0P5xwnjPIVSnallGyj-y5b-xeOrdXQ=323) that will train autonomous cars, robots, and chatbots. Israel is readying a wartime stimulus. The program, floated by Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich yesterday, [would be bigger than](%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2023-10-19%2Fisrael-latest-fresh-diplomatic-push-follows-gaza-aid-promises/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/vAZ_o2ZdtUa6UMpIZDGol9J-MB1GnQUPcvo_-tP83Go=323) the one deployed during the covid pandemic. The FBI accused thousands of remote workers of helping fund North Korea’s missile program. IT employees contracting with US companies have [allegedly sent millions of dollars](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Ffbi-thousands-of-remote-it-workers-sent-wages-to-north-1850940865%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/HJOdsHKD_7lzUzksHhar6J3yAKtKp9kziT-dLE0ckcU=323) in wages to North Korea for several years. Ghana gave the go ahead to its first lithium mine. The country has its eyes on [providing a key ingredient](%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Fghana-greenlights-first-lithium-mine-with-eye-electric-vehicle-boom-2023-10-19%2F/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/z490EDzm_rnpTDnmsh2QrZWvWzccEjNZZRSsc1X6tm0=323) for the world’s shift toward electric vehicles. The hand of law is squeezing AI and crypto Here’s the thing about new ways to pay for goods and new ways to generate intelligence—the way they do business needs to hold water in court. Two recent lawsuits prove just how fast the hand of law can clamp down. In one, the state of New York accused crypto firms Gemini Trust, Genesis Global, and Digital Currency Group [of defrauding some 230,000 investors](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fnew-york-letitia-james-gemini-genesis-dgc-lawsuit-1850941552%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/ttKq12KVzIYicpn4_t6e-4ZY6pQ8tQIyZyPEbIPDaQQ=323) of more than $1 billion; in the other, Universal Music Group sued Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic for [allegedly ripping off lyrics](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Funiversal-music-group-sues-anthropic-ai-katy-perry-1850940686%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/bYu4xiZh4yQXm71UwVcTlXKqTaOLxPL9Xbt_HBtFdeY=323) of artists like Katy Perry and Don McLean. “Although the AI technology involved in this case may be complex and cutting edge, the legal issues presented here are straightforward and long-standing,” the lawsuit against Anthropic reads. Quotable: To pay for corporate advice from bots or not “The compliance burden globally is increasing and with geopolitics, the level of complexity that the C-suite is facing is like you’ve never seen before. A lot of people talk about how there’s gonna be job displacement with AI, but the reality, to navigate these very complex situations, AI is going to be necessary to actually do that work.”—Bivek Sharma, chief technology officer and head of AI and Alliances at PricewaterhouseCoopers UK, [in an interview with Bloomberg this week](%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2023-10-17%2Fpwc-offers-advice-from-bots-in-deal-with-chatgpt-firm-openai/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/X1alPY1MOBRJi4WlFqrP5ezZj-SvvirXhbq4BP35KyM=323) Global audit firm PwC is now partnering with ChatGPT owner OpenAI to offer artificial intelligence-generated consulting to clients as a cost-cutting strategy that it also believes will boost productivity. But Quartz’s Faustine Ngila asks an important question: [Will clients pay for corporate advice from bots like ChatGPT](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fpwc-tax-advice-ai-chatgpt-consultation-bots-payment-1850937429%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/n-zb18FfW1TebTpnQXFH_TFovgWQTDaRwcqSs21nNN4=323)? The burden of healthcare costs for US businesses In the US, about 153 million people rely on their employers to provide them with health insurance. That comes at a hefty annual price for the average American business: nearly $17,400 for each family plan to be exact (with employees paying $6,575 for their own portion). %2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850943313%2Fcostco-has-a-ceo-mo%2F/4/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/DNoaY_SFZlzpQA1Y5dVosPEPoTZTXTV8fWDbZWulixo=323 Graphic: (Grete Suarez) The increase in healthcare costs is consistent with upticks in worker wages. Coupled with inflation, these factors put businesses in a conundrum—to reduce benefits for more savings and risk unhappy employees, or to pressure their bottom line. Quartz’s Grete Suarez throws another variable into the mix: coverage for [diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F1850931752%2Fozempic-metabolizing-the-market/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/xNXCs9gS19ZRjNGGtjrt3vlxirJ9jnuRdEfTnaw2el8=323) (hint hint: [it’ll only make things more expensive](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fthe-burden-of-healthcare-costs-just-keeps-growing-for-a-1850938824%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/YSxHKt3DTDB32RkWinyuqc2ZA7kF7eL9JzbigFxobws=323)). Quartz’s most popular 💉 [How Ozempic is metabolizing the market](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fquartz-obsession%2F1850931752%2Fozempic-metabolizing-the-market/2/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/RRYlte5dkrORG4NC2xsNl-47oykWnFyPav1XVGLZiIE=323) 🎬 [Netflix’s big third quarter isn’t stopping it from raising prices in the US, UK, and France](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fnetflixs-big-third-quarter-isnt-stopping-it-from-raisin-1850939787%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/Rfg--6KKvgG-A9d2vdwvyeLY-XI9AUoG-S6cKog_qm8=323) 🪧 [Another group of Detroit workers is placing their bets on a strike](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fanother-group-of-detroit-workers-is-placing-their-bets-1850936546%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/sIt-CmcMSgBnw152BWTtAf0huBHW2Rq2csUk0wgCr5g=323) ❌ [Elon Musk has made X (Twitter) all about him. Just look at the numbers](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Felon-musk-has-made-x-twitter-all-about-him-just-look-1850935423%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/HAdk-Hh9LT4E5CwMMRB5chxpJLLUoloRzULtDlQ5ZrM=323) 🏭 [China rolls out a (largely symbolic) red carpet for foreign manufacturers](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fchina-rolls-out-a-largely-symbolic-red-carpet-for-for-1850936541%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/koh1-jbAf6Dqd63X9ZkqEmBpspgf7QCylIDAMJDojzc=323) 🏠[Demand for home loans in the US hasn’t been this low since the 90s](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fdemand-for-home-loans-in-the-us-hasnt-been-this-low-sin-1850938190%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850943313/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/qU7G-GYmsuCF4_sI_xEXwZ78wAaxCSFi2Ss7ThteCEQ=323) Surprising discoveries Go ahead, hit the snooze button. [It might even help you complete math problems](%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2023%2F10%2F18%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fsleep-snooze-alarm-wake-up.html/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/p_xpG-fTn3nkmAixy9nKGQWv81TJ-N3WmsA3PdBxdQo=323). Menstruating reshapes the brain. As hormones fluctuate, so do [gray and white matter volumes](%2F%2Fwww.sciencealert.com%2Ffor-the-first-time-scientists-show-structural-brain-wide-changes-during-menstruation/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/HM3lLFC38CFY2SUAG-lk1eAiQP0pigLEUGljVMus8hs=323). The frontrunner in Argentina’s presidential election really loves his cloned dogs. Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian, [named four of them](%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2023%2F10%2F19%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Fargentina-election-javier-milei.html/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/qqw2v87taq9wYtW4T342QjTodpj2gMDDUaqr4Vo9KKs=323) after conservative American economists. More than a quarter of United Auto Workers’ 380,000 union members are from academia. It may be time to reevaluate [what the A in UAW](%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2023%2F10%2F19%2F1206209107%2Funited-auto-workers-union-uaw-membership-grad-students-big-3-strike/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/H3qiiMDaELKRaqCNNnTGNfSEPUoCLliMPTCIN89JQ1g=323) stands for. The Caribbean passport trade is booming. The EU found 88,000 citizenships [have been sold](%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2023%2Foct%2F19%2Fcaribbean-states-sold-golden-assports-eu-citizenship-travel/1/0100018b4c88ab27-737c326e-eea2-44ca-8edc-c4b203722e48-000000/GvH50NfvBDdsB0NMRUymkNrSuIjU5pfV6bi73YsB37I=323) to people from countries including Iran, Russia, and China. Did you know we have two premium weekend emails too? One gives you analysis on the week’s news, and one provides the best reads from Quartz and elsewhere to get your week started right. 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